Dressing for the home office

Working from home doesn't make sweat pants okay

Six months after leaving her job as a technical writer to go freelance, Kara Landis met a lawyer friend for lunch at a downtown Toronto restaurant.

“She was wearing a dress and heels, very put together.” Landis was wearing old jeans and salt-stained boots. “For some reason, it really hit me in that moment. I thought, ‘What’s happened to me?’”

Thanks to technology and flexible employers, an increasing number of Canadians are working from home. They comprised 19 per cent of the workforce in 2008, according to a Statistics Canada report.

But the growing numbers don’t make dressing for a home-based career any easier. To counteract the pajama-clad basement dweller cliché, a wardrobe has to be versatile enough for everything from running errands to impromptu meetings. Unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg, shapeless sweatshirts and sandals won’t cut it.

“Taking care of your clothing and appearance shows respect for clients,” says Anne Soweden, a Toronto-based image consultant. “It reflects on how you run your business and how you do your job.”

Landis threw out the offending Ugg boots the day after her fateful lunch. Then she reassessed her closet. “For me, it was getting back to that office mentality,” she says. “I feel like I’m in work mode and more productive when I get dressed.”

So, to fight the sweatpants stigma, here are five tips for building a stay-at-home wardrobe that means business.

Sweatpants are acceptable—if it’s just you. Any actual human contact requires you to step it up. Vancouver-based image consultant Diana Kilgour has a golden rule: “Anything you would be comfortable sleeping in should not be worn in a business environment,” she says. The same goes for anything that’s wrinkled, pilled or ill fitting. Camille Kim, an image consultant who works out of her Calgary home, suggests wearing shoes indoors to complete the look. “It maintains a sense of visual authority and professionalism,” she says. “You would never meet someone outside the office without shoes on.”

Invest in the jacket. A well-fitting blazer is a versatile piece for both men and women. “Having a jacket is what takes the formality up, even if it’s a pair of jeans and a t-shirt,” Soweden says. A crisp blazer can easily dress up a polo shirt and dark-wash jeans for men, or a shift dress and statement necklace for women.

Ditch the backpack. Kilgour says it’s usually men who break this rule. “Graduate to something leather that doesn’t have ski passes dangling from the zipper,” she says. For women, a purse carries more weight. “It’s a status object,” Kim says. “In our society, women do judge each other on their bags.” Look for an all-occasion purse that will give you the most mileage for your career and last through multiple seasons.

Care over cost. Your closet should be stocked with fast, easy choices, but don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. “We’re in an era of everything being disposable,” Soweden says of inexpensive fast fashion found at stores like H&M and Zara. All of those impulse purchases can add up to hundreds of dollars wasted on cheap knits and flimsy ballet flats. Instead, Soweden says, “Spend what you can afford on clothes and really take care of them.”

Learn to layer. “Having multiple layers shows more authority and visual command because it’s a more traditional way of dressing,” Kim says. For men, a colour-coordinated mix of dress shirts and sweaters can go a long way. Women can never go wrong with classic staples like pencil skirts, trousers and cardigans. When in doubt, add a pop of colour or a bold pattern. “Pattern adds some personality,” Kim says. “As long as you break it up.”

At-home sartorial choices may ultimately depend on an entrepreneur's business. But a sloppy demeanor often extends into work. Dressing sharply can improve mood, help achieve business goals and construct a bit of a mental barrier between home and office life—even when they take place at the same location.

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